Said And Done
by QuantumLeaper84
Summary: Gene is on a very personal quest
1. Chapter 1

**Said And Done Chapter 1**

As Gene turned his back to the house and made his way to the Cortina he allowed the reassuring smile to slip from his lips and let his true feelings of hopelessness and desperation seep through his features. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He knew how badly she needed his constant reassurance and the glimpses of hope he offered but it completely drained him of energy. This act, this pretence; speaking words of comfort, making promises; all of which he knew were empty gestures. He had told her that he would go through the now familiar routine of phoning his contacts to see if they had any new information and would contact her when he had finished. He already knew what message he would be giving her when he was done and he also knew that the silent tears would follow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As he walked into CID, Gene's manner made it abundantly clear that he did not wish to be approached or spoken to. He wanted to get the phone calls out of the way before turning his thoughts to police work. After shutting his office door forcefully and closing the blinds, Gene sat down heavily in his chair and opened the bottom drawer of his desk. He thrust his hand into the drawer, pushing it right to the back where he knew he'd stashed it the last time he'd used it. After a minute of rifling through odds and ends, Gene finally withdrew his hand from the drawer, clutching a well worn piece of paper. On it were three names: Sally Culls, Tom Salford and Jack Lithgoe, each followed by a phone number. Gene dialled the first number.

"Erm….. 'ello. Is that you, Sal? It's Gene 'ere again. Just wonderin' if you 'eard anything lately that might be of interest to me"

As Gene listened to the reply at the other end he nodded slightly in a dejected manner and replied "Well, thanks anyway Sal. Just keep me posted, alright? Thanks again. See ya"

This exchange was repeated twice more with only the name being changed. When he had finished, Gene went over to his filing cabinet and poured himself a generous measure of Scotch, emptying the glass in one swift gulp. He poured himself another and took it over to his desk where he sat down and stared at the phone on his desk. Blowing out a Scotch-filled breath, Gene lifted the receiver and dialled a number that he didn't need written down in order to remember it. It rang several times before being picked up and an elderly, female voice inquired softly "Hello?"

Gene licked his lips before replying "Mum, it's Gene. I've phoned round like I said I would…….there's nothing new to report."

As expected, there was a quiet sniffle and small, hiccupping breaths as his mother cried over yet another fruitless effort.

Gene responded in the only way he could think of and murmured "I'm sorry" before hanging up.

Eleven months.

That's how long this had been going on. His mother's life had been destroyed in that time. Her every waking moment was devoted to waiting to hear of any new information. Shopping for food and other essentials wasn't even considered. She would have starved by now if it wasn't for Gene and the missus bringing food. Her favourite TV shows were long forgotten and her trips to the bingo hall had ended, along with the friendships she had found there. Gene knew this isolation wasn't good for her but she refused to go out of the house, with the simple explanation "Someone might ring while I'm out". Gene hated seeing his mother like this but he hated himself even more for feeling so helpless. Usually, Gene knew exactly what situations he was dealing with and what the solutions were. This feeling of helplessness was unchartered territory for him and he didn't like it at all.

As he polished off a third Scotch, Gene's thoughts turned to the root cause of this present situation. His blood began to boil and his face contorted in sheer anger and hatred as he spat out the only thing he could manage.

"BASTARD!!!!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **This is more of a 'fill in the gaps' chapter and doesn't really advance the story but I feel it is a necessary chapter.

**Said And Done Chapter 2**

Gene should have been ecstatic. They'd just collared four scumbags in the middle of a Post Office blag and convictions were a certainty for all four blokes involved. However, Gene's thoughts were elsewhere as he pondered his most recent visit to his mother the previous evening.

Each time he went not only had his mother's desperation intensified but so had her need to distance herself from Gene. Oh she was polite enough, pecked him on the cheek when he arrived and then again when he left, but something was missing. There was no eye contact between them and she chose to sit in the furthest seat from him which wasn't her normal seat of choice. Whenever they'd had conversations previously she always addressed with the term 'son' or 'love', but not anymore. Now it was just 'Gene', delivered in a rather cold tone. He wished she would just come out and say it instead of putting on this act. She blamed him. Gene knew that was what she thought and there were times when he thought it too.

He'd wanted to help; to _do _something. However, he acknowledged that, as usual, his method was aggressive and only resulted in stirring up hostility. Maybe he should have tried harder with Sam Tyler's 'softly, softly' approach. Then again, Stu was his brother for crying out loud! Surely he knew Gene well enough to know that although he was being aggressive, Gene only had his best interests at heart; wanted to help him. Gene smiled bitterly. Or maybe the drugs had done so much damage that Stu didn't even know Gene anymore. Stupid addict. After Gene's last attempt to talk some sense into him, Stu had done a runner and so the present situation arose. On one level, Gene could understand that Stu might want to make him suffer for 'interfering' in his life, but why punish their mother as well? She didn't deserve this. Stu's blatant disregard for their mother was what made Gene angry more than anything else. While Gene tried to pick up the pieces of his mother's shattered life, she projected her feelings on to him by blaming him for the situation; with the belief that he had pushed Stu away by constantly going on at him.

Well, that was one possibility for his brother's disappearance.

Gene had explored many other possible reasons for Stu's downward spiral in the eleven long months since he vanished. It could be rebellion. With a law-abiding (most of the time) copper for a brother maybe Stu just wanted to be the antithesis of Gene. Or perhaps Stu's downfall was just another after effect of their father's brutal legacy. After years of being beaten and made to feel worthless maybe it was inevitable that Stu would be left with more than just bruises. But, Gene countered, why didn't I suffer the same fate? He wasn't an addict. Despite Tyler's admission that he was "a borderline alcoholic", Gene never let alcohol control him. With that last thought, Gene was interrupted as Ray Carling poked his head around the door of Gene's office and inquired,

"We're off to The Railway Arms, Guv. You comin' ? We're celebatin' the result of that blag bust"

Gene looked up and nodded swiftly.

"Don't have to ask twice, Raymondo"


	3. Chapter 3

**Said And Done Chapter 3**

Gene didn't phone his mother before leaving the station. What was the point? There might not even be anything to tell her. Still, Gene felt the bile in his stomach turn ice cold as he contemplated what he may have to confront in only a matter of minutes.

For the entire journey Gene stayed within the speed limit; something he had never achieved in all his years of driving. It gave him time to think, to compose himself. If this was how it was going to end, Gene knew that he would be burdened with guilt for the rest of his life. Despite his feelings of anger and hatred, this was not how he wanted it to end. More importantly, he dreaded to think what it would do to his mother if this ended in the worst possible way. Gene refused to dwell any further on the worst case scenario as he entered into the final stretch of the journey.

Sally Culls had phoned just as Gene had resigned himself to catching up with the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated. He was initially grateful for the distraction until the caller identified herself and explained her reason for calling. Gene struggled against a tangle of emotions as he hung up. On one level, he should be relieved that he had finally received the call that he had been anticipating for eleven long months. However, the information that Sally had passed on wasn't exactly the sort that brought feelings of relief in its wake.

Gene took in the building as he drove towards it. Grey, sombre stonework presented a lifeless yet foreboding structure, accurately reflecting the work that went on within its walls. At the reception desk Gene clipped a Visitor's pass onto the lapel of his jacket while explaining his reason for being there. As the receptionist put a call into Sally Culls' office Gene took a seat on one of the sold, metal chairs opposite. Gene wasn't a man who gave in easily to anxiety but sitting there waiting for Sally, the feeling consumed him. He became aware that his hands were slick with sweat but refused to look down and acknowledge the moisture that coated his palms, instead he discreetly wiped his palms on each side of his trouser legs. A second later, Sally Culls pushed through the double doors that led into the reception area. Gene rose as she walked towards him. Her expression was grim as she greeted him

"Gene, I would say that it's nice to see you but the circumstances don't exactly make those words appropriate."

Gene offered a small smile "Yeah, it's probably best if we just get on with it"

Sally nodded and led him back through the double doors. As they walked along a white-washed corridor lined with a mixture of steel and wooden doors Gene debated whether or not to ask Sally a question that had occurred to him during the drive here. A part of him argued that he didn't really want to know the answer so why bother asking? Gene chose to go ahead anyway.

"Sal, there's one thing I'm not too clear about. Why the main city morgue? Why not a hospital morgue?"

Sally Culls hesitated before replying but then met Gene's eyes "Bodies that are found on the street are always bought to the city morgue as their cause of death needs to be fully investigated"

Gene frowned "Found on the street? Had he been attacked, killed……?" Gene was now standing perfectly still, staring imploringly at Sally as she continued to walk on.

Realising that Gene had stopped, Sally turned and walked back to him as she replied "No Gene, it was nothing like that. He was…………_living_ on the streets. Someone had approached him to offer some food and they noticed that his lips were blue and that he wasn't breathing………" she trailed off and looked sadly at Gene.

Gene nodded and replied "Right……I see. Let's get on shall we?"

They continued in silence until they stopped outside a steel door at the furthest end of the corridor and Sally murmured softly "Are you ready?"

Gene merely nodded while inside, every fibre of his body screamed with a mix of feelings as he prepared to confront the lifeless body of his younger brother.


	4. Chapter 4

**Said And Done – Chapter 4**

**A/N: For those still interested in this story I apologise for the huge delay in updating but life just kept getting in the way through one thing or another.**

Finally, in the privacy of the Cortina, on the way back to the station, Gene reflected on the sight that had greeted him in the morgue. The tattoo on the left upper arm. The small scar on the collarbone. Gene didn't even have to look at the face to know. It wasn't Stu. Relief had engulfed him but he didn't allow it to register on his face as he stated matter-of-factly that the dead man was not his brother.

Of course it was a relief that the dead man wasn't Stu but there was another side to the coin. It meant that his brother was still missing and that his mother was still trapped in her life of despair and anguish. The familiar anger reared its head again in the pit of Gene's stomach but he suppressed it as he tried to re-focus his thoughts on other things, like an arms dealer that they were currently investigating. This subject kept him occupied for the rest of the journey.

The rest of the day passed quickly as Gene busied himself with collecting more information about the arms dealer and he was feeling pretty pleased with himself as Chris entered his office to tell him that it was "beer 'o' clock". Normally, this news would be eagerly welcomed by Gene but today his stomach churned uneasily at Chris' announcement. It was time for another visit to his mother which in turn meant time for more awkward silences and laborious small talk. Gene took his time while getting his jacket on and locking his office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was no denying it now, not after what had just happened. This business with Stu was seeping into his work life. Sam Tyler had started asking questions and even Ray was looking at him questioningly. He would never tell them anything but gossip would surely start courtesy of Ray. They would probably say he was past it, getting too old now, couldn't handle it. He didn't care so long as the truth stayed buried.

He wasn't even supposed to be in on the interview. It was a case that Sam and Chris had been working on but Sam had to go and see the Super so he had asked Gene to step in and question the suspect with Chris. His name was Carl Earnshaw and he'd been found in possession of Cocaine; enough to suggest that he was a dealer. It had then emerged that he hung around outside the local college quite often and eventually one of the students had ratted him out as a dealer after Earnshaw had ripped him off with a deal.

As the information was laid out in the course of the interview, Gene's mind became dominated with thoughts and images of his brother. It was bastards like Earnshaw who had destroyed Stu's life. As Earnshaw sat there was a smug grin on his face while firing out cocky answers to each question, Gene felt the anger rising at lightning speed and he had no desire to stop it. His fists clenched and his jaw was set solid as Earnshaw became more confident and self-assured. Chris had by now decided to use a different tact and went on to ask Earnshaw if he felt bad about encouraging drug use in young people. Earnshaw's response was simply to laugh out loud. Gene snapped. He launched around the table to Earnshaw and flung him up the wall. His hands found Earnshaw's throat and gripped it viciously as he threw the man's head against the wall continuously, shouting "Bastard!! Scum!!". Earnshaw clawed feebly at Gene's hands as he struggled to breath. By this time Chris was attempting to pull Gene away but he was no match for his Guv. It was only after Chris called for Ray that Gene was finally separated from Earnshaw who fell to the floor coughing and heaving. Ray and Chris stared at Gene with identical expressions of shock on their faces. Gene's only response was to storm out of the room.

So here he now sat in his office nursing his third Scotch. What the hell was he supposed to do now? This couldn't be passed off as the usual 'persuasive' questioning of a suspect. It had gone beyond that. The look that Chris and Ray had given him proved that. Their opinions of him had probably been irreversibly changed for the worse. He should never have let his emotions rule him like that.

Before Gene could contemplate Sam Tyler's reaction to the incident he was interrupted by the phone on his desk as it let out a shrill ring.

"Yes?" Gene barked.

A nervous woman replied at the other end "Erm……is this Greater Manchester Police?"

" 'Course it bloody is! You should know if you rang the number"

"Well….erm……my name is Sister Collins from Manchester City Hospital and….erm…..there's something I think you should know. As you know we're obliged to report any suspicious circumstances regarding patients to the police. Well……a patient that came in about an hour ago certainly raised alarm with me and I felt that I should inform you"

Gene rolled his eyes '_probably just some bloody drunk who she can't handle'._

"And what are these circumstances?" Gene asked in a tired voice.

"The patient didn't have any i.d so I can't give you a name but they had clearly overdosed on something, which we are in the process of identifying"

Gene closed his eyes, '_Jesus, not drugs again'._

"Anything else?" Gene asked.

"Yes……..we found a knife wound in the stomach area and it looks fresh. Also……..the patient is actually in a coma at this time"

Gene had to bite his tongue to keep from bellowing, his response was loud nonetheless. "Then why bother bloody ringing!! What good is someone in a coma?!!"

The Sister stumbled through an apology "I'm……sorry…….I…..I thought you should know…….because of the wound…..I thought –"

Gene sighed heavily and cut her off "Alright, give me twenty minutes and I'll come and see what can be done" Gene rubbed at his temple as he replaced the receiver.

He could get uniform to go and deal with it, this was usually their business but he needed to get out for a bit even it was another drug-related incident.

Gene welcomed the cold air that whipped around him as he walked to the Cortina.


	5. Chapter 5

**Said And Done Chapter 5**

It had begun to drizzle lightly as Gene got out of the Cortina and made his way to the entrance of the hospital. As he got closer to the door, the scent of disinfectant mixed with antiseptic invaded his nostrils – God, he hated hospitals. The hospital was quiet; yet nurses bustled around attending to their duties. Approaching the nurses' station Gene withdrew his warrant card.

"A Sister Collins rang earlier about –" Gene was cut off as a slender, middle-aged woman hurried up to him. Her name tag identified her as Sister Kerry Collins.

"Oh, Inspector, I'm so sorry but you've had a wasted journey" the Sister dropped her gaze and blushed furiously as Gene glared at her.

"You what?"

"I'm sorry Inspector but……..the patient died five minutes ago" she chewed on her bottom lip, gaze still downcast, waiting for Gene's reply.

"You are joking me ?!!" his tone was more frustrated than angry.

Sister Collins finally met his gaze. "We didn't realize that the patient was in such a bad way. The doctor says there was probably internal bleeding"

Gene sighed heavily. "Well, I should still have a look, see if anything looks suspicious. An autopsy should be performed anyway as a matter of course"

"Okay Inspector, if you'll just follow me this way, to the morgue" Sister Collins offered a small smile while gesturing the direction.

On the way, Gene tried to gather more information. "Did you find out anything else after we spoke on the phone?"

"The patient wasn't very old, maybe mid-forties. They were also a regular drug user judging by track marks found on the arms."

Gene nodded grimly "Where was the discovery made?"

"On an industrial estate, ten minutes up the road. A truck driver had finished his shift and as he was parking his truck he noticed something slumped up against a wall. He didn't realise it was a person until he had a closer look. Right, here we are"

They had stopped outside a set of double doors with the word "MORGUE" written on in big, bold letters. Not surprisingly, it was a fairly 'out of the way' area of the hospital. Cold air drifted through the crack between the doors, giving an indication of the atmosphere that lay within. As Sister Collins placed a hand on one of the doors, ready to make her way inside, Gene spoke up.

"You know, since you first called in about this and even up 'til now, you've only referred to the person in question as 'the patient'. I don't even know if it's male or female"

"How thoughtless of me, I apologise, Inspector. The patient is actually male."

"Right, that's that sorted. Let's have a look at him, shall we?"

Gene could never understand the layout of morgues. The steel drawers in the walls looked like filing cabinets, the cupboards and work surfaces along the other wall looked like any you might find in the kitchen at home. It was only the steel table in the middle of the room that looked out of place and that was only because of the weird drainpipe-shaped grooves on each side.

Sister Collins walked past the main section of steel drawers and made her way to a far corner where a number of drawers were set apart from the others – where the unidentified bodies were stored. Sister Collins looked along a row of drawers that were at waist height until she found the one that she was looking for – 286. As Sister Collins opened the steel door and rolled out the sheet-covered corpse, Gene shivered slightly.

"Right then Inspector, here is our mystery man of the night"

As she pulled back the sheet to reveal the dead man's face, it took every ounce of Gene Hunt's strength to keep him on his feet.


	6. Chapter 6

**Said And Done – Chapter 6**

Flat, wide nose, pock-marked skin; reflecting a life-long battle with acne and the weak jaw which reflected the weakness of its owner's self discipline. These features jumped out at Gene and demanded to be acknowledged; after all, they were all part of a face that he recognised. Unexpectedly, once the shock had subsided, anger flooded in to replace it. _Bastard, after all you've done, this is the death that you bloody well deserve. _He struggled to keep himself in check while Sally Culls was still present in the room and simply said

"Well, I can give you an ID on him, Sal"

Gene eased open the door to the building and winced as it gave a protesting creak. He made his way to the nearest seat at the very back of the room and proceeded to observe the scene in front of him. The word that seemed most appropriate was _pathetic. _There were six people occupying the room including Gene himself. Gene thought bitterly _So where are all your junkie mates now? Couldn't even be bothered to see you off, could they? _In all probability, the other four members of the congregation were likely to be professional mourners; people who attended funerals as a hobby. The minister was clearly uncomfortable and kept glancing over at Gene with a questioning, perhaps even suspicious, look in his eye. The poor bloke probably knew the history of the deceased and assumed that Gene was an associate of his,

As the first bars of "Abide With Me" began and the curtains closed to conceal the final destination of the deceased, Gene reflected on the irony of a junkie being reduced to a powdered substance. After witnessing the service, Gene was now more assured than ever that he had made the right decision in not telling his mother of the revelation in the morgue and, in consequence, preventing her from bearing witness to how pitiful the service had been.

Gene's face was grim as he made his way across the grass, made damp by morning frost, towards the Cortina. He sat there in the quiet car park, reflecting on words and actions, said and done; how they may have shaped and determined the course of the future. Once the anger had come and gone, Gene's feelings became bittersweet about how things had turned out. On the one hand, from a copper's point of view, there was one less junkie on the streets and his demise had been entirely of his own doing. Then again, maybe he could have been helped; gotten off the stuff and started living a good, fulfilling life. He'd been pretty young, still time enough for marriage and kids, get a decent job and reclaim some self respect. God how he hated drugs and everything that came with them. _Stu. What a waste. _At school there'd been a lot of talk about what a gifted athelete he was. Who knows? He might have made the Olympics. Good-looking bloke as well, women were always after him; could have had himself a nice wife. Gene didn't like dwelling on these thoughts so, pulling himself out of his reverie, he looked around the car park only to find that it was now completely deserted, prompting Gene to start the Cortina and be on his way.

Back in CID, Gene had headed straight for his office but not before admonishing Ray for being a 'lazy git' . His first port of call once he was in his office was the filing cabinet to retrieve his bottle of Scotch. As he sat nursing a tumbler of the amber liquid, Gene decided that he would leave work a little earlier today and not go to the Railway Arms but straight home to his wife. If Gene had learnt anything today it was that you shouldn't take a good life for granted. With that thought, Gene's face darkened and he sighed heavily before refilling his tumbler. Opening his desk drawer, he swiftly removed the well known and well worn piece of paper upon which were written three phone numbers accompanied by three names:

Sally Culls

Tom Salford

Jack Lithgoe

Gene lifted the receiver from its cradle and began to dial the first number.

**A/N I hope you like this last chapter but if not** **I shall explain my decision behind this ending. From Life On Mars we learn that Gene was unable to locate his brother for a whole decade until he finally discovered the sad truth of what had happened to him. Therefore, I wanted my conclusion to reflect the ongoing nightmare that Gene would have had to endure for those ten years. **


End file.
